HHS: Health insurers are committed to COVID vaccine coverage, no cost sharing

Last week, reports of people being denied insurance coverage for the new vaccines surfaced as the shots were being rolled out to pharmacies, however, insurers have assured HHS Secretary Becerra they are “fully covering” the shots.

HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra (Photo: Drew Angerer/Bloomberg)

On Wednesday, a group of health insurers from Blue Cross Blue Shield, Cigna, Humana and others met virtually with the Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra to discuss how HHS will continue to partner with the private sector to ensure individuals have access to updated COVID-19 vaccinations. Also, the HHS received commitments that the new vaccines will be completely covered, after reports surfaced of some people having to pay out-of-pocket – up to $200 – for the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines.

This meeting is the latest in an ongoing series of conversations between HHS and the health care sector for over a year in preparation for the rollout of the updated COVID vaccines. Other insurers that attended the meeting were CVS Health (which owns Aetna), CareFirst, Anthem, UnitedHealth Care and the Better Medicare Alliance as well as the trade group AHIP. The insurers told Becerra that the technical issues with vaccine coverage have been “largely if not completely” resolved.

In addition, the Alliance of Community Health Plans, Association for Community Affiliated Plans, AHIP, and Blue Cross Blue Shield Association sent a letter to Becerra on Wednesday to reiterate their commitment to providing access and addressing any challenges: “You have our commitment that health insurers are fully covering the new COVID-19 shots, as required, with no cost sharing when consumers access them from a network provider or receive them through an out-of-network provider when in-network options are unavailable.”

To date, more than six million vaccines are being shipped to pharmacies and more than six million COVID-19 tests have been ordered by consumers from COVIDTests.gov. Two million Americans have received their fall COVID shot, regardless of their income or health insurance status, all Americans can access vaccines free of charge, including the uninsured through the CDC Bridge Access Program.

At the meeting, the group discussed the ongoing COVID-19 vaccination program and the work being done by insurance providers to resolve recent technical issues which made it more difficult for their members to get vaccine shots. Becerra expressed his appreciation to insurance providers for taking immediate action to rectify these issues.The group also discussed how providers could help their members to better navigate provider websites and other systems to make it even easier to receive their vaccine.

Related: CDC recommends new COVID boosters for all: But who will pay for it?

According to the HHS, the following representatives participated in the meeting:

Recommended Stories